Radford enjoys the moment as Hull stun Giants

Hull’s Fetuli Talanoa is tackled by Anthony Mullally and Joe Wardle during the 19-0 victory (PA)

Hull coach Lee Radford was able to enjoy a joke about his future after seeing his side pull off one of the shocks of the opening round of Super League.

Radford had been one of the bookmakers’ favourites to become the first coach to get the sack but the odds might now be more generous after his side’s impressive 19-0 win at highly-fancied Huddersfield.

“I think I’m second favourite now to get the sack,” he joked afterwards. “I thought without being spectacular, we warranted the result. We were very gritty and everyone was astute with what we delivered. For me, probably the most pleasing aspect was the team performance from one to 17.”

Full-back Jamie Shaul clinched Hull’s first win at the John Smith’s Stadium for six years with two tries in a crucial seven-minute spell in the second half.

But the hero was former Salford and Castleford scrum-half Marc Sneyd, who went a long way to demonstrating that his wonderful year with the Tigers in 2014 was no one-off as he helped create two of his side’s three tries and kicked seven points.

Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott admitted his side were lucky to come away from Hull KR with a 40-30 win.

The Challenge Cup holders twice came back from a 14-point deficit to start their season with a victory thanks to late tries from Zac Hardaker and Brad Singleton.

McDermott praised his side’s character as they dug in to get off to a winning start in front of a packed KC Lightstream Stadium.

“We can find ourselves fortunate to win,” he said. “The bounce of the ball and a couple of others things went our way. There are things we need to correct but I’m pleased to get the win.

“It was a mixed bag in terms of performance, with some spells good, other spells weren’t so good. Defensively we were leaky but KR deserve a lot of credit.”

Despite the loss, Rovers coach Chris Chester said there were plenty of positives to take from the game.

“We were the better side for 65 minutes,” he said. “I’m disappointed with the result but happy with performance.

“It’s frustrating losing 14-point leads because we’re better than that defensively. It’s not nice conceding 40 points, but we’ll get better.

“There were a few individuals who missed a few tackles but overall I’m proud of the effort.”

Danny Washbrook scored a dramatic late try as Wakefield came from 22-6 down to beat fierce rivals Castleford 24-22 in a thrilling game at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

The Tigers looked to be on course for a routine victory, inspired by debutants Denny Solomona, Scott Moore and Junior Moors, but Wakefield, written off by many, showed they will not be the whipping boys of 2015.

Solomona grabbed the first two tries and Luke Gale went over. But Pita Godinet and Ali Lauitiiti got Wakefield back in it before Washbrook clinched a famous win for the Wildcats, who also fought back from a 20-point deficit to win against the same opposition in 2011.